A Review of Environmental Hygiene Requirements: Complying With Infection Prevention and Control Accreditation Programs

Cleaning and disinfecting environmental surfaces (environmental hygiene) in healthcare facilities is crucial for reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and improving patient outcomes. Furthermore, healthcare organizations must comply with rigorous infection prevention and control standards to obtain accreditation from the Joint Commission and other agencies. However, a recent survey by the Clean Spaces, Healthy Patients initiative of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology and the Association for the Healthcare Environment found that around half of infection prevention and environmental services professionals find it difficult to locate useful resources about proper environmental hygiene practices, highlighting the need for additional education in this area.

The purpose of this whitepaper is to provide healthcare professionals with guidance on how to comply with infection prevention and control accreditation programs as they pertain to environmental hygiene.

• Accreditation programs can help mitigate HAIs impact on patient care.
• Evidence-based practices must drive environmental hygiene in the healthcare environment.
• Levels of disinfection must be understood in order to achieve effective cleaning.